Yangzhou has a history of almost 2,500 years, being founded in the Spring and Autumn Period when it was called Kuang-Ling. In 590 AD, Kuang-ling began to be called Yangzhou, which was the traditional name of the entire southeastern part of China.

Located by the Yangtze river and Jinghang (Grand) Canal, it has been a leading economic and cultural center and major port of foreign trade and external exchange since the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Marco Polo served there under the Mongol emperor Kubilai Khan in the period around 1282-1287. Although some versions of Polo’s memoirs imply that he was the governor of Yangzhou, it is more likely that he was an official in the salt industry.

Until the 19th century Yangzhou acted as a major trade exchange center for salt, (a government regulated commodity), rice and silk. The Mings (1368-1644) are largely responsible for building the city as it now stands and surrounding it with 9 km of walls.

From the time of the Taiping Rebellion (1853) to the end of the Communist revolution (1949) Yangzhou was in decline, due to war damage and neglect of the Jinghang Canal as railways replaced it in importance. With the canal now partially restored, Yangzhou is once again an important transportation and market center. It also has some industrial output, chiefly in cotton and textiles. In 2004, a railway linked Yangzhou for the first time with Nanjing.